Prentice says Tory party won't take for granted 'second chance' from Alberta voters

Alberta's Tories will be celebrating a "second chance" as they gather in Banff this weekend while 250 kilometres away Wildrose party members will be in an introspective mood as they ruminate on their party's fortunes in Red Deer.

LETHBRIDGE — Alberta’s Tories will be celebrating a “second chance” as they gather in Banff this weekend while 250 kilometres away Wildrose party members will be in an introspective mood as they ruminate on their party’s fortunes in Red Deer.

Following his Lethbridge leader’s dinner Thursday, Premier Jim Prentice told reporters he expects his first Progressive Conservative annual general meeting as party leader to be “frankly a lot of fun” for party members following four Tory victories in October byelections.

But Prentice, who spoke to 460 people who paid $250-a-plate, said he doesn’t believe complacency or overconfidence will be a problem.

He noted that in his speech he acknowledged that Tory caucus members know they have been given a “second chance” following the controversies that embroiled the government under former premier Alison Redford.

“I don’t want anyone in my party to misunderstand what the public said to us. What they really gave us was the chance to continue to work hard and to show that we’re worthy of the trust they gave in us,” said Prentice, the former federal cabinet minister who won the Tory leadership to become premier two months ago.

While Prentice captured the leadership by a landslide, there were a few controversies along the way that appear to have caught some party members’ attention.

Two constitutional amendments will be considered at the Banff AGM that would limit the purchase of party memberships to an individual or a family member.

Prentice said he would address the amendments on the weekend but he didn’t take them personally.

“It’s part of a healthy, vibrant democracy in our party,” he said.

While Tories will tinker with the party rules and consider policy, the Wildrose annual general meeting in Red Deer that starts Friday is expected to have weightier discussions following the party’s byelection losses.

Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith said in an interview this week she plans to lay out a choice of directions for the party when she speaks to members.

She said Wildrose could continue down its current path and become a successful and entrenched opposition party.

“That’s not my preferred path. I think we need a change in government and that’s what I’ll be putting to our members, about why more than ever we’ve got to make some changes that will allow us to position us to replace this government in 2016,” said Smith.

The Highwood MLA declined to provide details but said the party has not been as successful as she hoped in getting its positive message out and has to do things differently.

“It’s going to require a lot of work from our grassroots members and I hope that they’re as excited about it as I am,” said Smith.

On Thursday, Smith announced plans to introduce a motion to entrench property rights in Alberta in the Canadian constitution. The Opposition plan would be paired with a private member’s motion in the House of Commons from Lethbridge Conservative MP Jim Hillyer.

Smith said the AGM will feature a “reverse bearpit session” where party officials will ask questions of members about what they think went wrong and what should be done differently.

She said she has already made changes to the party’s campaign staff for the 2016 election.

Smith had called immediately after the byelection loss for a leadership review to be held at the AGM to reaffirm her position. That plan was shelved however when Wildrose caucus members offered their support to Smith and called for the review to be spiked.

MacEwan University political scientist Chaldeans Mensah said it was a “fiasco” for Wildrose to come up empty in the byelections. Polls had shown the party in a position of strength for months but Wildrose is still unable to reach urban, centrist voters, he said.

Mensah said Wildrose thrived with Redford in office but now has to find a message to appeal to voters who are again considering Prentice and the Tories as a viable option.

“Under Prentice, the Tories seem to have regained their footing. Which means the Wildrose needs to reassess their entire election preparation. It needs to be stronger organizationally,” he said.

“Wildrose has to almost rebuild its foundations. It’s not going to be an easy election coming up.”

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